Ben Deumling walking through Zena Forest
The Joinery has been proud to partner with Zena Forest Products to source local Oregon White Oak for the last decade. We have always strived to utilize lumber from local sources and that which is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council. Since partnering with Zena, we have been able to accomplish both.
Founded in 1987, Zena Forest Products is a multigenerational family business that restores and stewards resilient, locally sourced hardwood products for large-scale residential and material-conscious commercial spaces. Through regenerative and restorative forestry, they carefully manage every step in the process to create an ecologically sustainable and economically viable forest – from the beginning stages of native seedling plantation to producing beautiful lumber, such as the Oregon Oak we offer in our showrooms and also into their own flooring products (including the beautiful Oregon Oak flooring Edge Grain flooring at the newly renovated Portland Airport).
Zena Forest is a 1300 acre parcel of FSC® certified forestland located in the Eola Hills a few miles northwest of Salem. It comprises one of the largest contiguous blocks of mixed conifer forest in the central Willamette Valley, and is home to a number of threatened and endangered species. The forest is protected by a conservation easement that stipulates that the forest will remain a working forest in perpetuity. No development is allowed, and strict harvest levels, as well as habitat preservation and enhancement, are mandated by the easement.
Zena's Display log that demonstrates how they cut lumber out of one of their logs to maximize all parts of the tree. The management goal of the forest is to create an ecologically sustainable and economically viable, uneven aged and mixed species forest including all tree, plant and animal species native to the area. "We are always managing towards greater complexity and resilience of our forest," Ben Deumling President of Zena states. "We foster a wide range of climate adapted species that have the potential to thrive far into the future."
Ben and Sarah Deumling stand in front of their saw mill
To learn more about Zena Forest Products, their team, and the work they have done to develop their latest product, Zena EdgeGrain Hardwood Flooring visit their website here.
Close up photo of The Joinery's handcrafted Whitman Dining Chair made from Zena Oregon White Oak